BBC - Travel - Stepping back in time in Socotra Nature & Outdoors Stepping back in time in Socotra As visitors flock to see the Yemen island’s Candyland-like features, the increase in tourism is both helping to ease poverty and straining traditional ways of life. By Tik Root 10 May 2013 Nestled high on a plateau between the Haghier mountain range and the Arabian Sea, five Socotrans gathered in a stone hut devoid of electricity, running water and all but the most essential supplies. After a fire-cooked dinner of goat, rice and tea, a group of Dixam plateau men settled in for a standard night of song, poetry and discussion about their island’s future. Related article: Oman’s underground playgrounds Socotra is an island of roughly 50,000 people located 380km off the coast of Yemen, the country to which it only technically belongs. Far removed from the political and security instability on the mainland, Socotra’s stunning microclimates, exceptional biodiversity and Candyland-like features make it an inimitable paradise.

A Unesco World Heritage Site , the Socotra archipelago is home to hundreds of endemic or endangered plant and animal species. The iconic “Dragon’s Blood” tree (Dracaena cinnabari), for instance, defies expectations, with moisture-capturing canopies that reach toward the sky and sap that runs red, giving the plant its name. Socotran culture is equally unique, having been preserved by centuries of near total isolation. As is typical of the island’s residents, none of the men in Dixam know their age, let alone their birthdate. A few are fluent in Arabic, but most prefer to speak Socotri, a sharp yet pleasant native language spoken only on the island. Since 1999 though, when a commercial airport was built on the outskirts of the capital Hadibu, outsiders have started to discover Socotra, a trend that is helping to ease poverty and diversify the economy, but is also putting the traditional way of life at risk. “We protect the environment and nature because when visitors come they are comfortable,” said one man in the hut, unconsciously verbalising Socotra’s shift from a self-sufficient oasis to one increasingly reliant on external support.

Over the last decade, tourism has been a boon to the economy. The pristine environment and untouched feel makes Socotra an alluring, yet under-travelled destination. Visitors can wander over cragged peaks, through Dragon's Blood forests, deep into stalagmite caves and across white sand dunes before plunging into the crisp, blue ocean. They can hike the 1,520m-high Skand peak, swim alongside dolphins, rock climb, lounge on world-class beaches or stop and try the locals’ fermented goat’s milk; no doubt an acquired taste. From the western-most city of Qalansiyah to the Dihamri Protected Area on the island’s northeastern point, goats are a notably ubiquitous part of the landscape. Brought to Socotra centuries ago by sailors, they reproduced rapidly and are now a staple of island life, providing both food and income for their owners. Unfortunately, they also eat virtually everything in their path, including the seedlings of rare plants. Harry Jans, a passionate traveller and amateur botanist, learned about Socotra after seeing a picture of the Dragon’s Blood tree on the side of a garbage can at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

Intrigued, he typed the words into Google and was blown away by the strange images before him. A quick search for Socotra brings up not only the Dragon’s Blood, but also the gnome of the plant world: the endemic Desert Rose (Adenium obesum sokotranum). With its stout, branchless trunk topped with tufts of green leaves, the Desert Rose is the island’s most well-known type of Bottle tree, a variety that survives in island’s drier regions by storing water in their trunks. “This is an inspection tour to get more info about Socotra,” he explained less than a year later, sitting on a beach during a break from snorkelling in Dihamri. Jans leads botanical tours around the world, and plans to return to Socotra again in 2015 with, as he puts it, “20 plant freaks”. Despite an influx of tourists, Socotra can hardly be described as crowded. Even prior to the Arab Spring uprisings that swept Yemen in 2011, Socotra hosted a mere 4,000 tourists per year, most of whom would visit between September and April to avoid the island’s summer windy season.

Due to the unrest, visitor numbers took a precipitous drop into the hundreds, but this past season the figure climbed back up to 1,400, a sign that the industry is beginning to recover. Yet as Mohammed Amer, the former head of Socotra’s environmental office, pointed out, any increase in visitors poses a challenge. “The problem we always have, with the environment, is that we clash with the interests of the people.” Outside major cities, one place this equilibrium could be jeopardised is at the massive sand dunes of Arher on the eastern coast. Ten storeys high, these wind-swept piles rise from the sea and abut steep, rocky cliffs. Tourists camp along the fresh-water streams that flow between the dunes, and swim off the nearby Ras Irsal peninsula. Without proper management, the area is ripe for harmful development that could disrupt the delicate ecosystem. Aside from tourists, foreign companies have also become interested in Socotra. They gather frankincense, endemic flora known for its powerful medicinal qualities, and a variety of other natural wonders at unsustainable rates.

Mahdi Naseeb, a local tour guide complained that unscrupulous harvesters “take Dragon Blood all the time, even if it is not the season”. The most drastic change, however, may be still to come. Though the timeline remains unclear, plans for a new, vastly expanded port funded by Kuwait has stirred debate, as it could eventually bring thousands more people to Socotra each year. On the Dixam plateau, the men huddled around the fire were of two minds. Protecting the island for future generations while simultaneously accommodating modernisation and combating poverty will clearly be a struggle. Those against the port outnumbered those in favour, but only by a narrow three-to-two margin – an ominous sign. Once lost, neither Socotra’s ecosystem nor its culture could be restored. Although the appearance of foreign bathers has at times chaffed the island’s generally conservative population, other issues are likely to prove more detrimental. Preserving the Socotri language, for example, will be one barometer of the ability to strike a balance between old and new. Unlike his father, Naseeb speaks mostly Arabic with his friends. “It's difficult to find young people [who] greet in Socotri in the market in the city.

I'm scared it will be lost.” Fortunately, the worries about the island’s fate remain largely conjecture. For now, Socotra’s aura of envious simplicity and consummate natural beauty endure, begging to be admired and protected by locals and outsiders alike. Practicalities Getting to Socotra takes planning and bit of cooperation from Mother Nature. Unless you are citizen of Egypt, Syria, Jordan or an Arab Gulf country, you must have a visa to enter Yemen. They can be obtained relatively easily at Yemeni embassies or consulates around the world, as well as through tour companies based in Yemen, such as Eternal Yemen . They take at least two weeks to process. There are regular flights to the island’s only airport, and disembarking on the Yemeni mainland is not necessary, though worth the detour. Yemenia Airways offers weekly flights from the capital Sana’a, and Felix Airways flies the route three days a week. Felix also offers a weekly flight from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. Delays due to inclement weather are common. It is best to make arrangements for Socotra through a tour company or upon arrival.

The United Nations Development Programme lists a number of tour operators – Ismael Mohammed comes particularly highly regarded – and other useful travel tips on their website . All the hotels on Socotra are located in Hadibu. Summerland Hotel offers debatably four-star accommodation, including a restaurant and tour services, while the others are more basic. Outside the city, tents and eco-campsites are the law of the land. Even in Hadibu, the Adeeb eco-camp is often the preferred lodging option. Most gear (snorkels, tents, etc) can be rented through tour operators or on site. Public transportation is virtually non-existent, so most travellers either trek on foot or hire a four-wheel-drive vehicle and driver. Transport, along with the shuttling of luggage, full-service camping (complete with meals) and a guide, can be included in most tour packages or arranged separately. National Geographic Magazine - NGM.com Socotra: Yemen’s Legendary Island Where the Weird Things Are Isolated Socotra, 220 miles from mainland Yemen, is home to a panoply of strange plants and animals uniquely adapted to the hot, harsh, windswept island.

By Mel White Photograph by Michael Melford It’s nearly midnight on the broad hill called Firmihin, where a dragon’s blood forest grows. The moon, a night past full, floods the jagged landscape with cool silver. Inside the rock wall of a shepherd’s compound, flames light the faces of four people sitting barefoot around a fire, sharing a pot of hot tea mixed with fresh goat’s milk. Neehah Maalha wears a saronglike garment called a fouta; his wife, Metagal, wears a long dress and matching head scarf in rich purple. They talk about their lives on the island of Socotra, in a language whose origins are lost in time—unchanged for centuries and understood today by fewer people than live in Ames, Iowa. Although the couple can’t read, they know that the new sign down the hill says that Firmihin has been declared a protected nature reserve. Foreigners come to their village, they say, to photograph the dragon’s blood trees and the desert rose plants and the mishhahir flowers. Scientists come and turn over rocks, claiming to be collecting insects and lizards. What are they really looking for?

Two hundred twenty miles across the Arabian Sea from the rest of troubled Yemen, Socotra was once a legendary place at the edge of maps of the known world. For sailors it was fearsome, with dangerous shoals, ferocious storms, and residents who were believed to control winds and turn ships toward shore for capture and plunder. Today Socotra’s rich biological diversity brings new explorers, who hope to learn its secrets before the modern world changes it forever. Suddenly the worry on Metagal’s face gives way to a bemused smile. She disappears into the darkness and returns to offer me a small, paper-wrapped package. Would I like to buy some frankincense? Neehah takes a tiny piece and places it on a coal from the fire. Smoke rises and swirls, and we breathe the lush scent that perfumed the funerals of Egyptian pharaohs and the temples of Greek gods. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans all tapped the treasures of Socotra’s natural world: aromatic resins such as frankincense, medicinal aloe extract, and the dark red sap of the dragon’s blood tree, used for healing and as an artist’s color.

Adventurers came to harvest the island’s wealth, despite stories that it was guarded by giant snakes living in its caves. The Queen of Sheba, Alexander the Great, and Marco Polo were among those who coveted Socotra’s riches. The value of incense and dragon’s blood peaked during the time of the Roman Empire. Afterward, the island served mostly as a way station for traders, passing centuries in relative cultural isolation. Socotra’s residents lived generation after generation as their ancestors had: the mountain Bedouin minding their goats, the coastal residents fishing, and everyone harvesting dates. Island history was passed down through poetry, recited in the Socotri language. Other than its strategic location off the Horn of Africa, there simply wasn’t anything about Socotra that interested the outside world. But that has changed. Research around the turn of the 20th century proved that this tropical island, despite its size of only 83 by 27 miles, ranks among the world’s most important centers of biodiversity, combining elements of Africa, Asia, and Europe in ways that still puzzle biologists.

The number of endemic plant species (those found nowhere else) per square mile on Socotra and three small outlying islands is the fourth highest of any island group on Earth—after Seychelles, New Caledonia, and Hawaii. The Hajhir Mountains, the rugged granite peaks that rise to nearly 5,000 feet in the center of the island, are likely home to the highest density of endemic plants in southwest Asia. Every vista on Socotra, from the hot, dry lowlands to the mist-shrouded mountains, reveals wonders seen nowhere else. One sweltering afternoon I took a walk near the dusty town of Hadibu with botanist Lisa Banfield, a Socotra specialist then on the staff of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. We climbed a rocky hillside and stopped beside a plant that would have been at home in a Salvador Dalí painting—a squat thing that looked as though a much taller tree had simply melted in the heat. Its fuchsia flowers inspired the common name desert rose, though it’s no more a rose than I am a porpoise. “This is a famous example of a strategy that Socotra plants have evolved to withstand the harsh drought conditions here,” Banfield said.

“This is Adenium obesum sokotranum. It also grows on the Arabian and African mainlands, but there it’s much smaller than on Socotra. Its trunk stores water, and it grows in these weird and wonderful shapes to anchor itself into the rocks. Some people call it grotesque, but I actually think it’s a very attractive tree.” Spoken with the true soul of a scientist. One 19th-century visitor called the desert rose “the ugliest tree in creation.” We walked a few yards to a plant that would be the undisputed weirdness champion anywhere but Socotra—one that could also deserve the species name obesum. Its swollen trunk rose above our heads, topped by a floppy mop of leafy branches sprouting haphazardly like dreadlocks. “In its growth habit this is very similar to Adenium,” Banfield said, “but actually it’s Dendrosicyos socotrana—the cucumber tree.” Cucumber? “Yes, it’s the only tree species in Cucurbitaceae, a family that we’d expect to be growing as straggly climbers or vines. But here you can see some really big ones, with huge trunks.

They look completely out of this world.” It is, however, another endemic tree, the dragon’s blood, that’s come to symbolize Socotra, its distinctive shape even depicted on Yemen’s 20-rial coin. A relative of the common houseplants of the genus Dracaena, it grows on the plateaus and mountains over much of the island. The most extensive dragon’s blood forests are found on Firmihin, where I’d spent the evening with Neehah and Metagal. The next day, under a relentless sun, Lisa Banfield and her Socotra colleague Ahmed Adeeb took me out for a hike around Firmihin. The landscape was a jumble of limestone rocks eroded into knife-edge shapes. The burnt brown harshness was interrupted here and there by the brilliant crimson flowers of the succulent mishhahir, as anomalous as a flag on the moon. All around us dragon’s blood trees lifted their branches skyward, looking, as many have remarked, like blown-out umbrellas. Even in a forest of dragon’s blood, the individual trees keep their distance, like shy people at a party.

Hundreds and hundreds of dragon’s blood trees stretched in all directions, but Banfield pointed out a troubling fact: Almost no young trees sprouted from the rocks beneath the mature ones. Many plants here rely on mists for water. Some of Socotra’s rarest endemics grow on steep cliffs in the mountains and around the island’s perimeter, where they soak up moisture that collects when mist condenses on rocks. Those upturned dragon’s blood branches are in fact an evolutionary adaptation to gather precious moisture from mist in the air—and there is less of that water available now. If climate change is responsible for the lack of regeneration of dragon’s blood and other rare plants, there may be no short-term solution. In the meantime Banfield and other conservationists are equally concerned about other human-caused threats to Socotra’s biodiversity. No developed airport existed on Socotra until 1999, nor were there any paved roads. Since then, though, the pace of development has been rapid. Changes that in other places took decades have been compressed into a few years here. More and more vehicles crisscross the island on an ever growing highway system.

The outside world has come to Socotra both figuratively, through television, mobile phones, and the Internet, and literally, through tourism. Though recent political unrest temporarily limited foreign travel, over the previous decade the island’s beautiful beaches, rugged mountains, unique biodiversity, and ancient culture attracted a burgeoning number of travelers—from 140 international visitors in 2000 to almost 4,000 in 2010. Some of Socotra’s admirers fear that the Yemeni government’s rush to bring the island into the 21st century may have already irreversibly damaged the very things those people came to see and could bring an end to a way of life that has endured for centuries. Belgian biologist Kay Van Damme first came to Socotra in 1999 as part of a scientific expedition, flying on an Antonov cargo plane chartered from the Yemeni military. A specialist in freshwater crustaceans, he remembers that he and his colleagues discovered new species simply by walking trails or wading along creeks collecting lizards, snails, insects, plants, and other life-forms—sometimes finding several previously undescribed species in a day.

As he returned to Socotra year after year, Van Damme’s purely scientific focus gave way to a broader concern for the island and its culture. “We were invited into people’s houses, and I learned that on Socotra people have a very strong connection to their environment,” he says. “I realized that the only way all these species have been able to survive all this time has to do with the traditional ways in which the people have guarded their island.” More than 600 villages, in most cases simply the clustered houses of extended families, are scattered across Socotra, each with its muqaddam, or respected elder. Over the centuries Socotrans developed practical ways of dealing with grazing, wood harvesting, land ownership disputes between clans, water-resources use, and similar issues. Unlike their counterparts in mainland Yemen, where violent feuds and tribal disputes have long been a way of life and where many men carry a gun and jambiya (ceremonial dagger) as a matter of course, Socotrans have a tradition of resolving issues peacefully in meetings among neighboring villages. Resource conservation was the only option for survival in the harsh island environment, and it had the side effect of protecting Socotra’s outstanding biodiversity.

Van Damme has looked carefully at the effects of development on other islands, and what he’s seen worries him. “You have habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, invasive species, loss of biodiversity,” he says. “Eighty-six percent of all reptile extinctions have occurred on islands. Look what’s happened to Guam, Easter Island, and even New Zealand.” Threats to Socotra’s environment abound on both the macro and micro scales, though many have been at least temporarily averted by security issues. One beautiful beach was set to become a major new port, despite no one being able to say why the facility was needed. (When I visited, a sign announcing the development had been torn down by residents protesting the loss of their traditional fishing and recreation site.) Rumors in coffee shops ranged from the seemingly well founded (a politically connected Yemeni had bought land adjoining an important marine reserve for a resort hotel) to the sketchy (the U.S. military would establish a base on the southwestern coast). One day Lisa Banfield and I scrambled up to the cliffs near the village of Qulansiyah, on the western end of Socotra.

On the red rocks here she showed me the bizarre Dorstenia gigas, a fig with a bulbous shape reminiscent of, well, nothing I can think of, and also rare myrrhs and aloes and an array of other island endemics. The Maalah cliffs and adjacent plateau, Banfield said, shelter Socotra’s second highest diversity, after the Hajhir Mountains—not just plants and invertebrates but also reptiles, whose endemism on the island tops 90 percent. Yet just below us, and out of sight above us, were the bulldozed curves of an unfinished road that would have cut directly across this biological treasure-house. The road project had been undertaken despite protests of conservationists; the cliffs were left unscarred only because the builders lacked the technical expertise to traverse them. Better planning would have protected biodiversity and made construction more practical. At another lowland site, called Iryosh, petroglyphs found on flat rocks may contain clues about Socotra’s earliest settlement. But in 2003 the government destroyed at least 10 percent of them by cutting a road across the area.

Such construction opens new areas to development, and if tourism regains its momentum, pressure will grow to sell land to foreign investors. On an island with a tradition of communal ownership, disputed land claims and the possibility of quick profits are dividing villages and even families, as well as eroding long-standing respect for natural resources. Already, newly built roads snake around Socotra’s perimeter, and new hotels and shops are under construction in Hadibu, most of them owned by people who don’t live on the island. Yet in the Hajhir Mountains the old ways seem as enduring as the granite peaks. Village muqaddams arise at dawn and sing to their goats, and rural people still go to traditional healers who burn them to drive away disease. The night mist lifts with the sun, the Socotra starlings flit through the dragon’s blood trees, the small doves sing their throaty oh, rococo calls, and mysterious flowers bloom on hillsides where no one ever walks.

Toward the end of my trip I traveled with Kay Van Damme, Lisa Banfield, and our guides to the Momi Plateau, an area of rolling limestone ridges and scattered shrubs underlain by vast caves full of rare endemic freshwater shrimps and other invertebrates. As we began our walk, an old man with a wispy white beard came rushing up, shouting, What were we doing on his land? We must leave! He said that if he were to let us stay, it would mean that more tourists would come to poison scorpions. When we agreed to pay him ten dollars, he said he would guide us over the hillside to the escarpment beyond. He walked barefoot across the sharp-edged rocks, carrying a staff that he used to accentuate his arguments. We hiked to cliffs rising nearly 2,000 feet above the shimmering blue Arabian Sea, and as we returned, the old man used his green shawl to gather a large bundle of branches, slinging the heavy load over his shoulder to carry to his hut. Back at the village, he said he had something to show us: a strange and mysterious object that he had found nearby.

He believed it might belong to the magic snakes that guard the caves, but he wanted the foreigners’ opinion about what it might be. He took a piece of white cloth from the folds of his fouta and unwrapped it. Inside was a marble—a brown-swirled glass marble that a child might play with, yet in his world a thing of wonder. “Socotra is still relatively pristine,” Van Damme says. “But that also means that this period right now, this whole wave of civilization and development, is the biggest threat ever to Socotra biodiversity. Socotra people have practiced conservation through their traditions, but now it’s up to all of us to keep this going in the future, to keep it strong against threats. Socotra is one of the last places on Earth where we can actually still protect a unique island environment, where we can still do something positive before it’s too late.” When stability returns to Yemen and roads, resorts, and eager travelers spread across Socotra, will its residents’ peaceful ways of settling disputes hold? Will people still gather in mountain villages to recite their poems in a language all their own, and will centuries-old traditions of conservation endure?

If so, perhaps those who climb high into the limestone hills will still hear the song of the Socotra bunting, part of the island’s weird and wonderful array of life. Natural history writer Mel White teamed with Mark Moffett, sometimes called Doctor Bugs, and landscape photographer Michael Melford to tell the story of Socotra. The three are regular contributors to National Geographic magazine. | Socotra Island: Jewel in the Arabian Sea - YouTube Socotra Island: Jewel in the Arabian Sea Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Jan 29, 2012 In an area consumed by war, famine, and poverty, Yemen's Socotra Island stands out for resembling an oasis of calm. Socotra is a an archipelago of four islands situated in the Indian Ocean, 240 kms east of Somalia, and 380 kms south of the Arabian peninsula.

It was enlisted as a UNESCO world heritage site in 2008. Its remoteness from the mainland has led Socotra Island to be described as the most alien-looking place on earth, as a third of its flora hasn't been discovered anywhere else. A combination of long geographical isolation, around 18 million years, along with heat and drought has contributed to the creation of widespread flora exclusive to Socotra Island. The fictional sounding Dragon's blood tree is one of the Island's most outstanding plants. The red sap of the umbrella-shaped tree was believed to be ancient dragon blood, hence its name. Once used for medicinal purposes and dye, the sap is now used in paint and polish. Centuries ago, the island's ubiquitous aloe plants were also used for its medicinal and cosmetic qualities. Socotra Island also claims the rare Socotran pomegranate tree as one of many plant species found on the island. Contrary to its flora, fauna is minimal, with the bat as the only native mammal to the island.

The population of Socotra estimates at 50,000, and are of Arab, Somali and South Asian origins, and speak the unique Soqotri language, which is only found elsewhere in minorities of UAE and other Gulf countries. The island's tranquility has recently been disturbed by Somali pirates who have used it as a post to refuel. By Noora Faraj 1000+ images about Socotra on Pinterest | Trees, Islands and Places Forward #Socotra island, #Yemen by @a_sawahli The island is very isolated and through the process of speciation, a third of its plant life is found nowhere else on the planet. It has been described as the most alien-looking place on the planet. See More Socotra Governance & Biodiversity Project - The Archipelago Welcome to Socotra The Socotra Archipelago is a natural gem in the Arabian Sea. It belongs to the Republic of Yemen and is located 380 km from the south Yemeni coastline. Very long isolation from the mainland of Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa has given the islands a precious chance to evolve unique and peculiar species of flora and fauna that cannot be found anywhere else on the Earth.

more Socotra | island, Yemen | Britannica.com Socotra Borneo Socotra, also spelled Sokotra, Arabic Suquṭrā, island in the Indian Ocean about 210 miles (340 km) southeast of Yemen , to which it belongs. The largest of several islands extending eastward from the Horn of Africa , it has an area of about 1,400 square miles (3,600 square km). The Hajīr (Hajhir) Mountains occupy Socotra’s interior, with narrow coastal plains in the north and a broader plain in the south. To the southwest and west are the smaller islands of Samḥah and Darzah Al-Ikhwān (called The Brothers), and ʿAbd Al-Kūrī, all of which also belong to Yemen. The islands stand on coral banks and may once have been connected with the African and Arabian mainlands. Socotra’s flora includes several famous species, among them myrrh, frankincense , and the dragon’s blood tree. In recognition of its distinct plant and animal life, the archipelago was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008.

A fossil dune along the coast of the island of Socotra, Yemen. © Ismael Montero Verdu/Shutterstock.com Socotra desert rose, or bottle tree (Adenium obesum, subspecies … © Vladimir Melnik/Shutterstock.com Socotra’s name is traced to the Sanskrit dvipa-sakhadara, “island abode of bliss.” The island is mentioned in various legends . The inhabitants long were Christians, but that religion disappeared from the island in the 17th century. Socotra was long ruled by the Mahra sultans of southeastern Yemen. Their rule on Socotra was interrupted by Portuguese occupation between 1507 and 1511. In 1834 the British tried and failed to purchase the island; in the 1880s, however, the sultan accepted British protection for the entire sultanate. The sultanate came to an end in 1967, when Socotra became part of independent South Yemen, and later, unified Yemen. Sunrise vista of the easternmost point on Socotra, Yemen.

© Vladimir Melnik/Shutterstock.com Socotra’s sedentary inhabitants are engaged in fishing, pearl diving, and small-scale agriculture. In the interior, nomads keep cattle and other animals and raise some crops. The island’s exports include ghee (clarified butter), fish , and frankincense. The capital and largest town is Hadīboh (Tamrida) on the northern coast. Hadīboh, principal settlement of Socotra island, at the foot of the Hajhir Mountains, Yemen Picturepoint, London The Alien Landscape Of Socotra Yemen - Stock Photography Blog Tweet Socotra is the largest island of an archipelago with the same name and it sums up about 95% of the landmass of the archipelago. It lies some 240 kilometers (150 mi) east of the Horn of Africa and 380 kilometers (240 mi) south of the Arabian Peninsula. The landscape of remote Socotra Island looks as if it comes from a sci-fi film but in fact has evolved to look so other-worldly as the'lost world' island has been separated from mainland Africa for between six and seven million years.

It is one of the most remote places on Earth of continental origin (not volcanic) and was once part of the super continent of Gondwana, which detached during the Miocene. The island's harsh environment includes wide sandy beaches, limestone caves and towering mountains, but is for the most part very hot and dry leading to the distinctive appearance of its plants. Socotra is considered the jewel of biodiversity in the Arabian Sea. In the 1990's, a team of United Nations biologists conducted a survey of the archipelago's flora and fauna. They counted nearly 700 endemic species, found nowhere else on earth; only Hawaii, New Caledonia, and the Galapagos Islands have more impressive numbers. The bottle tree, Adenium obesum sokotranum, also grows on the Arabian and African mainlands, but there it's much smaller than on Socotra. Its trunk stores water, and it grows in these weird and wonderful shapes to anchor itself into the rocks. It is, however, another endemic tree, the dragon's blood, that's come to symbolize Socotra, its distinctive shape even depicted on Yemen's 20-rial coin.

A relative of the common houseplants of the genus Dracaena, it grows on the plateaus and mountains over much of the island. The most extensive dragon's blood forests are found on Firmihin. Many plants here rely on mists for water. Some of Socotra's rarest endemics grow on steep cliffs in the mountains and around the island's perimeter, where they soak up moisture that collects when mist condenses on rocks. Those upturned dragon's blood branches are in fact an evolutionary adaptation to gather precious moisture from mist in the air. As well as the funky flora, the island is home to 140 species of birds, 10 of which can only be found on the Socotra, such as the Socotra starling, sunbird, bunting, sparrow and golden-winged grosbeak. Many of the native species are now endangered as they have been hunted by non-native feral cats. Interestingly there are no amphibians native to the island and only one native mammal - the bat - but 90 per cent of reptiles are endemic to Socotra, including rare skinks, legless lizards and one species of chameleon.

The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans all tapped the treasures of Socotra's natural world: aromatic resins such as frankincense, medicinal aloe extract, and the dark red sap of the dragon's blood tree, used for healing and as an artist's color. Adventurers came to harvest the island's wealth, despite stories that it was guarded by giant snakes living in its caves. The Queen of Sheba, Alexander the Great, and Marco Polo were among those who coveted Socotra's riches. Because the island belongs to Yemen, a country with very strict regulations regarding travel, Socotra draws very few tourists. Even the most adventurous travelers are deterred by the country's association with radical Islam. Socotra people have practiced conservation through their traditions and this one of the last places on Earth where we can actually still protect a unique island environment. Socotra – Travel guide at Wikivoyage Understand[ edit ] Due to its remarkable biodiversity, with over a third of the local plant species found nowhere else, Socotra has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site . With over 40,000 inhabitants, though, it's not just a nature reserve.

The Island is new to tourism, so if you are looking for a luxurious vacation this is not the right destination. However, Socotra is a perfect destination for the adventurous and nature loving travelers. Socotra takes pride in their eco-tourism and values their spectacular plant and wildlife that may sometimes be only found on this island. Although the lodging and facilities may not be the same as more modern and developed locations, Socotra is a beautiful and magnificent destination choice. Great care is shown to both guests and the environment. Socotra is an eco-tourism system with limited infrastructure and new to the international tourist market, and therefore the hotel accommodations are not quite like other destinations. However there are four hotels in Hadibo: Taj Socotra Hotel, Hafijj Hotel, Socotra Hotel, and Summer land Hotel. These hotels may not be the most luxerious, but they do provide air-conditionting, televisions, and refrigerators in all of the rooms. Most of the rooms at these hotels have their own bathroom, but there are a few rooms at the Hafijj Hotel and Socotra Hotel that must share bathrooms. Fortunately, there is a restaurant in each of the hotels with simple yet delicious cuisine.

Considering Socotra is a fairly new eco-tourism destination, their facilities are decent. In addition, there is also another hotel at the airport as well as multiple guest houses around the island. The most popular lodging is actually camping on the beaches. There are several campsites that allow tourists to barbeque on the beach with beautiful mountain views in the background. Tourists can choose to purchase camping tour packages which include a driver or guide that will show tourists around the beaches as well as provide meals during their stay. It is a fantastic way to enjoy the beauty and wildlife of the island. A runway that provides fairly regular airline transportation was only constructed in 1999. Like everything else, infrastructure and transportation has only just begun in recent years. There are also plans for new harbor facilities that will allow fisherman to sell and catch more easily and make importing food and fuel simpler. In addition, there are also two information centers located at the airport and Hadibo. When to go: Climate is an important consideration. And this depends on your interest. Nature enthusiasts should go from early October to late April. The monsoon occurs in July till mid-August (during July in the south east and south west of the island, wind surfing activity can be arranged).

Generally, wildlife and natural viewing is best from the end of January through May. By plane[ edit ] Dixam, in the centre of the island There are flights from Sana'a via Al Mukalla . Yemenia Airlines offers one flight per week on Thursday morning. Felix Airways offers two flights per week on Wednesday afternoon and Saturday morning. Flight durations are almost three hours. There are also flights from Sharjah via Al Mukalla. Get around[ edit ] There is a public bus from the airport to Hadibo and from Hadibo to Qalansia. Beside these two buses, there is no public transport, but car rental with driver is available. There is a lot of walking and hiking along with camel back rides available. See[ edit ] Socotra is considered the jewel of biodiversity in the Arabian Sea. Although the region is small, it is characterized by unique land and marine biodiversity. The interior of the island is dominated by the beautiful and green Hagghier mountains and limestone plateau. While on the outer coastline, breathtaking natural beaches have pure white sand dunes and palm trees.

Socotra Island is very rich and is home to many rare spectacular species of reefs, fish, birds, plants, and trees which are not found anywhere else in the world. The limestone plateau and the Hagghier Mountains are the richest areas for endemic plant species, but endemics are found throughout the island in every type of vegetation. One of the most famous plants is the dragon's blood tree “dracaena cinnabara” which exists only on Socotra and nowhere else on the Earth. The tree got its name because if any damage is made to the bark then a dark red liquid oozes out. The dragon's blood tree thrives in Socotra's arid climate There is also the Desert Rose (adenium obesium) which looks like a blooming elephant leg. Also found in Socotra's landscape is the ever-strange and extremely rare Cucumber Tree. In addition there are over 120 species of birds and about 190 species of butterflies. There is so much beauty all around the island, it is difficult not the appreciate to magnificent scenery and wildlife.

Do[ edit ] Bottle Tree, Socotra Island Camp: With a bit of water for washing, a good meal and warm sleeping surrounded by virgin nature, camping on the beaches will provide a very special break from the every day routine in civilization! Socotra Adventure tours can carry all the camping equipment and cooking gear or you can opt for any one of the several campsites like Dihamri and Homhil. Hiking: The Scant, Tinnera, Firmihin, Dersmotin regions, are the most popular destinations for trekkers. Hiking is for everyone and even for those who are less athletic. However for more difficult and high altitude trails, it is recommended to be accompanied by a local guide. Camel back ride: It is an opportunity to get to know and enjoy the spectacular scenery and relaxed the rhythm of ancient time. This is more of a less active adventure. The camel back rides provide a more relaxing ride over plateaus and colorful panoramas and mountains. Surf: Socotra has excellent conditions for surfing. The best time to come for this activity is during the monsoon season from June up to late August.

In July the wind speed can reach up to 60 mph and you have to be aware of such conditions. Since the winds and be very rough it is recommended that only experienced surfers participate. Scuba dive/ Snorkel: Dive into the tropical warm weather filled with coral reefs. Enjoy swimming among the hundreds of species of fish and marine life such as barracudas, monkfish, dolphins, rays and even mantas. Diving for all ages and levels. Bird watching tours: This is for anyone who has an interest in birds. Excellent way to view nature and the highly diverse bird population while avoiding harming any wildlife. Local boat safaris and fishing: Take one of the organized tours and be taken to incomparable destinations. The trip to Shouab beach is a half day tour to discover the beauty of this remarkable destination. With the clear water and white sands you can snorkel and relax. While driving the boat, dolphins can be seen swimming right next to the boat. Also go on a fascinating fishing experience with some of the locals. Remarkable volcanic caves: Explore the Hoq Cave with its overwhelming beauty and variety of crystal decorations.

Beaches Shouab, Qalansia, Arher, Noget, Amaq among others Wadis and fresh water pools Homhil, Wadi Dirhir and others Eat[ edit ] Socotra is a remote island and therefore their cuisine is limited and simple. Local restaurants often serve fresh fish, chicken, goat, rice, and potatoes. The fish is highly recommended and all meals are typically served with flat Arabic bread. There are also restaurants at each of the five hotels with a simple menu similar to that of the local restaurants. Oranges, bananas, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, bottled water, and soft drinks can all be bought at shops in town. Vegetables can be bought also but they are more expensive because they must be shipped over. If you are camping in Socotra, your driver/guide will be responsible for your meals (typically some delicious freshly cooked fish). Although it's nice to help the driver you don't have to. Drink[ edit ] Since Yemen is an Islamic country, there are no alcoholic beverages provided except at five star hotels in the big cities mainland. It is suggested for tourists to bring their own alcohol if desired. Bottled water and soft drinks can be purchased at shops in town.

Bottled water is also available at the campsites, and tea is served with all the meals as well. Stay safe[ edit ] Malaria is not common, but malaria prophylaxis is recommended. Cholera is not on the island at all. The hospitals offer less than adequate service, but pharmacies are located around Hadibo. 1000+ images about The beautiful Yemen. on Pinterest | Old city, Sunday night and Amazing places منازل حول السحب في يافع,محافظة لحج/اليمن - Houses around the clouds,in Yafa'a,Lahij governorate/Yemen ---- #YEMEN #KSA #TOURISM #EGYPT #AMAZING #CLOUDS #NATURE #MAROC #SUDAN #LIBYA #KUWAIT #ALGERIA #MOUNTAINS #PICS #PHOSOTS #اليمن 2 Geography of Yemen State Borders Yemen is a populous, mountainous country at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. It is the southernmost country of the Middle East, bordering Saudi Arabia on the north and Oman on the east.

In the south, its coastline stretches more than 1,000 kilometres along the Gulf of Aden, extending east to the Arabian Sea (or Indian Ocean); to the west, the narrow yet dangerous Red Sea separates the country from Africa. Biogeographically, the western part of Yemen belongs to the Palaeotropics, as do Ethiopia and Eritrea, where the same vegetation and climate are found. State borders Yemen. Source: Fanack. Geography and Climate Yemen is roughly rectangular, stretching 1,500 kilometres from east to west and 350 kilometres from north to south, and covers an area of 528,000 square kilometres; it is slightly smaller than France, Afghanistan, or Somalia, and slightly larger than Iraq , Spain, or Morocco. Yemen’s northern neighbour, Saudi Arabia, is four times larger, while its eastern neighbour, Oman , is about half its size. Yemen has several climates. Western Yemen benefits from monsoon rains, which fall mainly in late spring and at the end of summer.

Most of the rain falls in the mountains, with an annual maximum of a 1,000 millimetres in the southern mountains, decreasing gradually to an average of 400 millimetres in the northern mountains. Temperatures in the mountains vary with altitude and season, with an average of 16°C and frosty winter nights in the higher mountains. The Tihama coastal strip, by contrast, is always hot and is very humid during the rainy season, a climate similar to that across the Red Sea, in Eritrea and Somalia. The eastern desert has a dry climate, with heavy but sporadic rains and frosty nights. Climate chart in Yemen – Temperature and Rainfall. Source: Fanack. Annual rainfall Yemen, in inches per year. Source: Fanack. Lowland Tihama The Tihama is part of the coastal plain bordering the Red Sea. Like the mountain range, it stretches well into Saudi Arabia. The Yemeni Tihama is always hot and, in summertime, humid as well. Fertile, semi-tropical spots are centred on oases and rivers, mostly in the foothills of the mountains.

In some places the Tihama has an African atmosphere, with dark-skinned people living in straw-thatched huts. The plain is home to historic towns, including the former capital Zabid and the port city of Mocha (al-Mukha), from which Dutch traders began exporting coffee in the 17th century. The modern port of al-Hudayda is the fourth largest city in Yemen. Lowland Tihama. Source: Fanack. Traditional mud houses in rural Tihama. Peripheral Inhabited Areas To the east, the mountain range descends gradually into the arid and sparsely inhabited provinces of al-Jawf, Marib, and Shabwa. With the exception of a concentration of agricultural activity and antiquities around Marib, these extensive provinces derive their economic importance mainly from the oilfields beneath the semi-desert lands. Still further east, the Hadramawt suddenly appears, an isolated chain of fertile oases cut by canyons. The Hadramawt is associated with a distinct ancient civilization . The governorate of the Hadramawt stretches to al-Mukalla, a large port city on the Arabian Sea, 500 kilometres from Aden.

Yemen shares the Rub al-Khali, or Empty Quarter – a vast desert occupying a large part of the Peninsula – with Oman , Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. It is one of the largest sand deserts in the world and is uninhabitable for people. The Rub al-Khali boasts some of the largest oilfields in the world. It presumably also holds a wealth of archaeological and geological riches, but it has yet to be explored extensively. Sparcely Inhabited Areas Map Socotra The isolated and therefore long-neglected island of Socotra lies at the maritime crossroads of Africa and western Asia, 800 kilometres south-east of Aden and 250 kilometres north-east of the tip of the Horn of Africa. The island has an area of about 135 by 40 kilometres and, together with three smaller neighbouring islands, is home to nearly 50,000 people. In the 1970s, Socotra was the site of a Soviet military base. Sometimes nicknamed the Galapagos of the Indian Ocean, Socotra shares some topographical features with other islands off the African coast, such as Cape Verde and the Spanish Canary Islands.

Socotra is becoming a destination for environmental tourism and an important site for the conservation of eco-diversity; much of the isolated island’s rich and remarkable flora and fauna is endemic and unique in the world. Island of Socotra / Yemen Nature Reserves Several parts of Yemen have been designated as nature-conservation areas. The island of Socotra is by far the most important of them, because of its exceptional number of endemic species. The mountainous area of Utma, west of Dhamar, is one of Yemen’s oldest designated nature reserves. North-west of Utma lies the national park of Jabal Bura , which preserves Arabia’s last surviving forest, still inhabited by baboons. These reserves are sometimes inadequately maintained. They often lack financing and are subject to corruption. An exception is Socotra, which has been ‘adopted’ by a group of scientists, and, through them, by UNESCO , which recognized Socotra in 2008 as a World Natural Heritage site . Nature Reserves Yemen. Source: Fanack. Water Crisis Yemen has one of highest poverty rates in the world, but among the challenges the country faces, none may be more daunting than that of water sustainability.

Yemen ranks among the world’s most fragile countries in terms of water security. Its underground aquifers are predicted to dry up within a decade as a result of overuse. To promote agricultural development, the government implemented policies that ‘encouraged the use of water, including low-interest loans, cheap diesel and public investment in surface or spate irrigation’, causing excessive water consumption. Wells are being drilled illegally into natural groundwater aquifers and leaky pipes are not maintained properly. According to a UN report on Water Statistics issued in 2010 , Yemen’s total renewable water resource was 2.5 billion cubic metres per year, while the total demand is estimated to be an annual 3.4 billion cubic metres, with 900 million cubic metres per year being extracted from aquifers. Hence, aquifers are declining by one to seven metres per annum, and are rarely recharged because of frequent droughts. Water consumption is thus much higher than the natural recharge. Factors Contributing to the Crisis The average annual rainfall ranges from 500 to 800 millimetres in the highlands. The aquifers that service most of the inland are barely refilled due to the low volume of precipitation.

Water purification and cutting-edge water conservation technology have brought some relief, although many areas in Yemen lack a secure electricity supply and an infrastructure to successfully implement these advanced water technologies. Climate change is another factor that will affect Yemen’s water availability. According to a 2008 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the climate in Yemen and the region will become hotter and drier, leading to an increase in the occurrence of droughts. The decrease in the frequency and amount of rainfall in Yemen might endanger the country’s agriculture . The World Bank is raising awareness among Yemeni farmers on how to conserve and use biodiversity to make agriculture less vulnerable to climate change. Coastal areas like Hodeidah, Mukullah and Aden might benefit from direct access to sea water, if Yemen had the financial means and the right infrastructure to desalinate sea water. However, desalination is a costly process, and the salt discharge has to be put back into the sea, leading to additional environmental hazards for Yemen’s marine coasts. Even if desalinization facilities are implemented, delivering desalinated water to the mountainous and water-depleted interior is immensely expensive and inefficient.

Another important cause of the water shortage in Yemen is the Qat cultivation that takes up around 60 percent of water used in agriculture and 90 percent of the nation’s groundwater. Prohibiting or scaling back Qat cultivation could save a substantial amount of water. But Qat is an immensely lucrative cash crop in an economy that does not offer many viable alternatives for earning comparable incomes. Unfortunately, the Yemeni government has encouraged Qat cultivation while failing to provide alternatives that could allow farmers to sustain themselves. Compounded by poverty , illiteracy , and reduced oil production, the precarious water situation has the potential to destabilize the country. The ongoing struggle between the government and the rebels has also severely influenced the water crisis, leading to a humanitarian crisis in some areas of Yemen. Some cities have been cut off from the rest of the country for weeks, as clashes continue, with many roadblocks and checkpoints being set up. UNHCR estimates that 150,000 people have been affected by the Yemen conflict since 2004, including those forced from their home by the latest round of hostilities. Parched land. Photo Shutterstock.

Question: The island of Socotra in the Arabian Sea belongs to which country?
Answer: YEMEN